Tip: We have found the following ideas helpful when transitioning staff and users to the Better Impact software family.
Communicate the Change
- Start communicating to everyone now! Explain how Better Impact will make things easier for your users as well as enhance your organization’s mission. Giving people time to process this change will help them more quickly adapt once the change takes place.
- Offer opportunities for feedback and sharing concerns. For those who are uncomfortable with change or with new technology, giving them places to share their discomfort before the transition takes place will help them as they transition. It will also provide invaluable insight on how you can make the transition easier for them.
Test the Software
- Test the software with staff first. Have colleagues take a look at the software once you think it’s ready to go. Have them try out the features so you can see how it will work once users start interacting with it. This will also provide staff a better understanding of what is involved in engaging users. And it may just increase their interest in the kind of information being collected, thus increasing internal support for your work.
- Then test the software with a user focus group. Select a handful of trusted and technologically proficient users to test the software. This will accomplish a number of things for you:
- It shows where your internal processes need to be tightened up. Anytime a new tool is used, processes change and this gives you the opportunity to identify those changes before you go live.
- These testers will ask you questions that will most likely be asked by other users. This will prepare you to answer Frequently Asked Questions once you roll Better Impact out.
- Your testers can become your greatest ambassadors! They will see how easy it is to use which should help generate excitement among others. Users sharing their enthusiasm often helps more reluctant peers become excited.
Introduce Better Impact
- Introduce members in waves. Group users into categories (such as by tech proficiency or program) and introduce them to myimpactpage.com at different times. This not only allows you to concentrate on small numbers of people at a time but each wave can then act as ambassadors for subsequent waves.
- Offer demonstration sessions immediately before launch. Invite users to come see how easy their experience will be. Ask your non-staff testers to attend the sessions to offer guidance to those coming to check it out. In so doing, you provide a safe place for those less comfortable with computers to learn what is expected of them.
- Spread the word about the online resources. Here’s the link to our online help articles written just for users and a link to a video overview of MyImpactPage.com that can be shared with your volunteers: https://support.betterimpact.com/siteguide/myimpactpage-com-video-overview/ (also embedded below for your viewing pleasure)
Helpful Links
For specific ways to incorporate and track your focus group’s efforts within your software, please see this article.